I was contacted twice by ACA in the space of a week recently.

The first time the reporter said I’m looking for someone who will say on camera that “GST on funerals should be abolished”. When I explained our position was different (no GST on a basic funeral), the call was swiftly terminated. Apparently it’s acceptable at ACA to write the comment and then look for an organisation to say it, rather than contact an organisation and ask them what their position is.

The second time ACA was doing a story on generic drugs allegedly not being produced in sufficient quantities in order to boost the sale of more expensive brand drugs. During the interview I was asked the leading question: “Who do you blame for this?” My populist answer was: “We place the blame squarely and fairly on pharmaceutical companies who are maximising their profits.” When the story went to air, this grab was used to respond to the question: “Whose fault is that pensioners pay more for drugs than they would if they bought them online?”

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